Proper prayer Luke 11:1-13

This post explores what Jesus said about proper prayer.

‘Proper Prayer’ as a post discusses how to pray scripturally. When asked, Jesus provided a model prayer, Luke 11:1-4. “…Jesus was praying… and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” Although Jesus taught this prayer to his disciples, we can also use it as a model for our prayers.

Note, this brief prayer contains four basic thoughts.

1) Begin with reverence of God and His name and pray for God’s kingdom. (The disciples prayed for the beginning of the kingdom, but for us it has already come—see Acts 2.)

2) Pray for essential physical needs. This recognizes God as the source of physical blessings.

3) Ask for forgiveness of sins like we forgive. This acknowledges that only God can forgive sin and will do so only as we forgive others.

4) Pray for God to lead our lives away from temptation.

Then, Jesus provided two examples that illustrate asking God in prayer. The first involves a friend asking for bread late at night, Luke 11:5. “And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves,” Although inconvenient, the friend complies with the request. Likewise, if we ask, our Father will answer our prayers.

In the second example, a father gives good gifts to his children. This recognizes that the heavenly Father will also surely do more and bless His children with the Holy Spirit.

Thus, Jesus provides encouragement for His disciples to pray.

So, what did we learn?

1.Our prayers need to reverence God and include blessings for the church.

2.We should ask for physical needs, forgiveness of sins, and guidance away from temptations.

3.God the Father answers prayer much better than human fathers.

For more on the Bible, click tdroberts.org or https://justchristian.com or https://podcastjustchristian.com

#GodProvides #GodGives #hallowGod’sName